The Chief Minister’s $400,000-a-year chief of staff Alex Bruce publicly boasted last year that he wanted to see “some mongrels” cop pepper spray to the eyes and wanted to post it to social media, raising questions about how the CLP developed its “dangerous” policy to arm the public with OC spray, while the police association says it’s concerned its officers could also be injured.

The government said on Wednesday that the pepper spray policy would improve personal safety by allowing people to carry the chemical weapon, but the proposal has been widely condemned by medical and community groups as policy on the run and dangerous by putting more weapons into the public arena for criminals to use against citizens.

It was revealed at Budget Estimates hearings last year that Mr Bruce, as the then-CEO of Hospitality NT, convinced the previous Labor government to introduce pepper spray for security guards at pub take-away bottle shops, although it is unclear if any businesses took up the offer.

Mr Bruce was hired as Ms Finocchiaro’s chief of staff last September, which the NT Independent can now reveal is on the highest possible pay band in the NT public service – an ECO6c contract that sees him take home $407,670 a year – almost as much as the police commissioner. In contrast, Labor’s last government chief of staff was paid on an ECO3 level or roughly $280,000 a year.

At a press conference on June 26, 2024, with then-police minister Brent Potter, Mr Bruce said that some bottle shops were “chomping at the bit” to get pepper spray for their security guards and claimed that “de-escalation” techniques were ineffective.

“Personally, I’d like to see some mongrels cop it in the eye with some of this spray, put that on TikTok, give the Jovi Boys a run for their money,” he said.

NT Greens Member for Nightcliff Kat McNamara said nobody should be calling for violence in the community, let alone someone in Mr Bruce’s position.

“It is incredibly concerning that the Chief Minister would be taking policy advice from someone who is seemingly gleeful about the thought of enacting violence in the community,” McNamara said.

“The CLP is fuelling crime panic with this dangerous trial and are sending the message that they have given up on actually improving community safety or preventing crime.

“The CLP Government continues to ignore evidence-based practices and instead are now promoting vigilantism.

“Mr Bruce has the highest level of remuneration available in the public service and yet taxpayers are not seeing adequate return on this pay, with the implementation of poorly thought-out and dangerous policies.”

Justice Not Jails community group said Mr Bruce’s comments were indicative of the Finocchiaro CLP’s divisive crime policies.

“The Chief Minister is taking policy advice from someone with a revenge fantasy who wants to see chemical weapons deployed against members of the public and glorified on social media,” said JNJ member Stephen Encisco.

“It is no surprise that the CLP’s justice policies are all about targeting and punishing Indigenous families and communities instead of supporting them to thrive.”

“Lia Finocchiaro is rejecting expert advice and evidence-based solutions to prevent crime…[and] is instead doing the bidding of a man clearly intent on pursuing his own agenda, stoking violence and division in our community,” said JNJ member Anna Sri.

Mr Bruce did not respond to questions about his past comments and his involvement in introducing the CLP’s capsicum spray policy. He also declined to answer questions about his $400,000 taxpayer-funded salary.

Ms Finocchiaro’s media adviser Elle Arnold said the decision to trial the OC spray for 12 months beginning September 1 was “a response to genuine feedback from Territorians who have consistently called for more personal safety options”.

“The trial is also informed by Western Australia’s experience, where a similar approach has provided valuable insights into how a controlled, lawful model can offer greater peace of mind without compromising public safety,” she said.

But the NT Police Association called on the Chief Minister to release those “valuable insights” relied on to make the policy announcement amid questions around what the CLP is claiming occurred in WA.

“While we are not opposed in principle to measures that enhance community safety, the decision to allow public access to OC spray raises significant safety, legal, and operational issues,” NTPA president Nathan Finn said.

“Police officers undergo extensive training before being authorised to carry and deploy OC spray, and its use is governed by strict protocols, including de-escalation efforts and post-incident reporting and review.

“The general public will not be held to the same standards or oversight, which poses serious risks.”

Mr Finn also raised eight additional concerns the NTPA has around the pepper spray policy, including whether background checks would be conducted on people purchasing spray, what training would be provided, the risks to vulnerable people and whether individuals would be held criminally or civilly liable for injuries.